SHAO YUN (SHARON) TAI

Sharon earned her M.A from the University at Albany’sMental Health Counseling program. She came from Taiwan and earned her B.S. in Forestry from National Taiwan University with an entrepreneurship certificate. Her research interest lies within the work of social class, poverty and the discrimination against people in the lower SES community. More specifically, she is interested in examining how poverty serves as a traumatic experience and conducting outcome research of interventions used for people experiencing material deprivation.

MIKHAYLA RILEY

Mikhayla earned her M.A from the University at Albany’s Mental Health Counseling program. She is the recipient of the Carson Carr Diversity Fellowship and her goal is to work with underrepresented groups in the field.

SELINA GRANT

Selina earned her M.A from the University at Albany’s Mental Health Counseling program. She also earned her B.A from the University at Albany where she double majored in psychology and human biology. Her research interests include racism among immigrants, young people of color and the factors that impact their racial identity.

SHANTEL POWELL

Shantel is currently on internship. She received a B.S. from the University of Florida where her research examined health disparities among people of color. She grew interested in alleviating this massive social problem through research, education, and activism. Shantel remains dedicated to understanding the psychological factors that not only impact but maintain health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities.

SCOTT WRIGHT

Scott is currently on internship. He holds a B.S. in psychology and philosophy from SUNY Fredonia, where his research was on multicultural education, privilege, and racial/religious identity development. While completing a M.S. in Counseling at the University at Buffalo, he conducted research and counseling with terminally ill hospice patients. His current interests include counselor humility and self-awareness within multicultural counseling, psychotherapy, and psychological aspects of the dying process.

DR. CRYSTAL AUSTIN

Dr. Austin is a Post Doctoral Fellow at University of Pennsylvania Counseling Center. Her research interests include: Biracial identity construction; the association between discrimination and mental health; and stigma related to mental health treatment within historically oppressed groups.

DR. MICHAEL GALE

Dr. Gale is an Assistant Professor at University at Hartford in the PsyD Program. His research interests include the impact of racial discrimination on health/mental health, the process and impact of developing racial identity, and the facilitation of culturally-sensitive counseling and social justice in training and supervision. He is currently conducting his dissertation examining biracial/multiracial identity as a protective factor against the deleterious effects of racism on health.

DR. ABIGAL NICHOLAS

Dr. Nichoas is a postdoc fellow at Therapy Group of D.C., a private group practice in in Washington, D.C.. that provides psychodynamic training and therapy, and has a large LGBTQ client population. She has a passion for social justice and multicultural issues. Her research interests are: racial and ethnic identity development, ethnic discrimination, racism and health, and culturally-sensitive counseling.

DR. MINSUN LEE

Dr. Lee is an Assistant Professor at Seton Hall University in the Counseling Psychology Program. She has published with Dr. Pieterse on the Integrated Model of Self-Awareness and multicultural training of counseling and counseling psychology students. She has also conducted research in the training medical students on the use of SBIRT, and the influence of imperialism on bicultural identity negotiation. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany in 2013. She is currently Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Seton Hall University. Her main research interests are: bicultural identity, racism, critical consciousness, and cultural factors in therapy process-outcome.

DR. MELANIE LANTZ

Dr. Lantz is Assistant Professor and Training Director at Oklahoma State University in Counseling Psychology Program. She serves on the Society of Counseling Psychology's Early Career Professionals Committee, and is Chair-Elect of the Society of Counseling Psychology Hospitality Space Committee. Additionally, she is presently a Tri-Chair of the Online Mentoring Community Sub-Committee of the SCP Special Task Group on Engagement. Her research interests include multicultural competencies, counseling, and training; social justice advocacy; prejudice and discrimination; and education and training in counseling psychology.